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So i'll get right to it my character was a Dark Elf Sorceror and I reached just shy of level 13. I played the game both as a roamer just going off into the mists and also as a standard quest round up and progress style. I played a little more than 20 hours over the past few days and I am a big fan of the Elder Scrolls series. Also MMORPG's and have played many since 1999.

I was really looking forward to this game because the concept of playing the Elder Scrolls with a multiplayer component just added to it seemed very appealing. What quickly became apparent is that is not really the case here.

Really the graphics are well done. The environments are varied and the effects and lighting are all really good as well. A little less than Skyrim quality but still great! The character models are good the animations are a little poor especially in first person but not something that was lingering as a problem for me its easily fixed with a bit of polish.

SOUND:

Music and sound effects in the game again were great. Many tracks had my whistling along which is always good.The voice acting did add a lot to the game as well and I didn't come across any poorly played characters.

GAMEPLAY:

This is where the game really nose dives. It's not to say that whats there isn't implemented well. It's more to say that the game just doesn't play like The Elder Scrolls at all. What you get is a generic MMORPG framework with an Elder Scrolls theme. Instead of the more obvious route....... -__-

COMBAT:

The combat is more of an illusion of real time action. The crosshair and targeting doesn't matter so much for aiming its just used to select your target. So your left mindlessly clickling away like the standard auto attack and quick bar cool down mechanics. The combat made me feel like I was playing Dungeons and Dragons Online or something... poorly done and insulting to think people won't know the difference...

PROGRESSION:

Another core issue with this game is that it's setup as a linear zone progression. Is kind of sad because in the loading screen message you are encouraged to pick a direction and roam. The only thing I found when I roamed was herbs, ore a seldom chest and doors and caves I couldn't enter most of the time. So with out doing a quest grab at zone hubs I'm now restricted. I also tried to leave the first zone when I finally got to the mainland and I couldn't. The game told me I didn't meet the requirements. So I was forced to do the mundane quest grabs just to move into the world.

Quests are not nearly as good as in the single player games. The caves and other descendable areas are so small and there are no enemies in them because of that reason. The best way for me to describe the quest system is that its just like World of Warcraft with voiceovers added to it. They try to disguise the mundane things as best as they can but I find that just makes it more apparent. Not much more to say here. The main quest line is basically single player so it makes you ask why this game is even online at all... which leads to the next problem....

MULTIPLAYER AND GROUPING

The game is not a true MMORPG in say the sense of a game like Asheron's Call, EverQuest, Ultima Online, Darkfall, Anarchy Online etc... This game is more like SWKOR and a dash of WoW mixed together with Elder Scrolls painted over it...

You have to group with people if you want to do the group dungeons. The grotto is the one I played in today and It was short and very forgettable the experience overall it wasn't very good and the bosses were pretty lack luster. Aside from this most people are just running around doing their own thing trying to rush through the quest grind so the multiplayer aspects in this game are very weak. The game would've been exceedingly better if it was exactly like say Skyrim or Morrowind even with just a 4 player online component.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I didn't play PvP because I really had nothing left that kept me wanting to log in. I stopped playing shortly before writing this review 5 hours shy of the beta ending. I'm sure it's fun for a few rounds but like the rest of the game I can't see it keeping me online in ESO. It's sad for me because I really wanted to like this game and tried my best to find some good in it. The game just isn't a good single player game which is how it plays most of the time. Also it isn't a good multiplayer game which is why they are planning on charging the monthly fee for it. Really it just makes me want to go back to dreaming of when I will finally get to play the real Elder Scrolls Online.

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Based on the current horizon I'd say you're probably right. MMORPG's just aren't MMORPG's anymore. They are more wolves in sheeps clothing. Sheeps being the big name theme that is painted over a terrible overused framework. The wolves being the cigar smoking investors cashing in on your dollars for pumping it out to you. I'm keeping my eye on Pantheon for now nothing else is looking too intriguing.

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I agree, virtually every "MMO" launched these days is just a solo-fest with a chat box. The problem with ESO is they tried to hit the middle between a single player Elder Scrolls game and an MMO trying to please everyone and end up pleasing no one. The game would have been better as a pure single player Elder Scrolls game, and it would have been better if they had just embraced real MMO's and made the game in that direction.

The only hope now is EQ Next which won't be out for at least a year or two. It at least won't have static quest "content" (as if spoon fed quests can really be considered content in this day and age), but I really doubt EQ Next will have a real focus on grouping and social interaction/dependence.

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Originally posted by Alden120

You have to group with people if you want to do the group dungeons. The grotto is the one I played in today and It was short and very forgettable the experience overall it wasn't very good and the bosses were pretty lack luster. Aside from this most people are just running around doing their own thing trying to rush through the quest grind so the multiplayer aspects in this game are very weak. The game would've been exceedingly better if it was exactly like say Skyrim or Morrowind even with just a 4 player online component.

See that is what ES fans want (me included) but in mmorpgs permanently altering the world like we do in our own single player ES games would just be chaotic. I think Zenimax is doing what they can, but given the nature of what ES fans like you and I are used to, what Zenimax has done does not resonate with us, we don't impact the world like we are used to doing when we play Oblivion or Skyrim. In those games as we play and listen to the dialog and react, we impact the game permantely. We just don't have that with ESO.

It's not a game for ES fans - ES fans are left confused and distracted and annoyed.

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Indeed sir Darkfall was a good game not a fan of Unholy Wars but the original Darkfall was alot of fun one of the best MMORPG's released in a long time. It had its problems like any game but was still alot of fun.

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Originally posted by Righteous_Rock

Originally posted by Alden120

You have to group with people if you want to do the group dungeons. The grotto is the one I played in today and It was short and very forgettable the experience overall it wasn't very good and the bosses were pretty lack luster. Aside from this most people are just running around doing their own thing trying to rush through the quest grind so the multiplayer aspects in this game are very weak. The game would've been exceedingly better if it was exactly like say Skyrim or Morrowind even with just a 4 player online component.

See that is what ES fans want (me included) but in mmorpgs permanently altering the world like we do in our own single player ES games would just be chaotic. I think Zenimax is doing what they can, but given the nature of what ES fans like you and I are used to, what Zenimax has done does not resonate with us, we don't impact the world like we are used to doing when we play Oblivion or Skyrim. In those games as we play and listen to the dialog and react, we impact the game permantely. We just don't have that with ESO.

It's not a game for ES fans - ES fans are left confused and distracted and annoyed.

Yeah man pretty much it didn't need to be and MMORPG it would've made more money and fans would've been happy. This won't appeal to a mass MMORPG audience or the single player Elder Scrolls fans. So not many people are really happy here eh ?

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Originally posted by Alden120

Originally posted by Righteous_Rock

Originally posted by Alden120

You have to group with people if you want to do the group dungeons. The grotto is the one I played in today and It was short and very forgettable the experience overall it wasn't very good and the bosses were pretty lack luster. Aside from this most people are just running around doing their own thing trying to rush through the quest grind so the multiplayer aspects in this game are very weak. The game would've been exceedingly better if it was exactly like say Skyrim or Morrowind even with just a 4 player online component.

See that is what ES fans want (me included) but in mmorpgs permanently altering the world like we do in our own single player ES games would just be chaotic. I think Zenimax is doing what they can, but given the nature of what ES fans like you and I are used to, what Zenimax has done does not resonate with us, we don't impact the world like we are used to doing when we play Oblivion or Skyrim. In those games as we play and listen to the dialog and react, we impact the game permantely. We just don't have that with ESO.

It's not a game for ES fans - ES fans are left confused and distracted and annoyed.

Yeah man pretty much it didn't need to be and MMORPG it would've made more money and fans would've been happy. This won't appeal to a mass MMORPG audience or the single player Elder Scrolls fans. So no ones really happy here eh ?

Saying no one is a bit to generalized and somewhat unfair to the game. While I don't find it earth-shattering and has its flaws, I've enjoyed my time enough in the betas enough to preorder. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean the rest of the world agrees with you. :)

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Originally posted by Alden120

Originally posted by Righteous_Rock

Originally posted by Alden120

You have to group with people if you want to do the group dungeons. The grotto is the one I played in today and It was short and very forgettable the experience overall it wasn't very good and the bosses were pretty lack luster. Aside from this most people are just running around doing their own thing trying to rush through the quest grind so the multiplayer aspects in this game are very weak. The game would've been exceedingly better if it was exactly like say Skyrim or Morrowind even with just a 4 player online component.

See that is what ES fans want (me included) but in mmorpgs permanently altering the world like we do in our own single player ES games would just be chaotic. I think Zenimax is doing what they can, but given the nature of what ES fans like you and I are used to, what Zenimax has done does not resonate with us, we don't impact the world like we are used to doing when we play Oblivion or Skyrim. In those games as we play and listen to the dialog and react, we impact the game permantely. We just don't have that with ESO.

It's not a game for ES fans - ES fans are left confused and distracted and annoyed.

Yeah man pretty much it didn't need to be and MMORPG it would've made more money and fans would've been happy. This won't appeal to a mass MMORPG audience or the single player Elder Scrolls fans. So no ones really happy here eh ?

Nope, no ones happy, your exactly right. It's why I said from day one they should not have used the ES IP for this game. It would have been perfectly fine if they created their own IP, but to call it ES is to pile on a massive load of expectation. It's heartbreaking for ES fans because we have played ES and probably thought a time or two if instead of bringing a companion along, I going to invite my friend (John Doe) to play the role of the companion. Would have been nice.

But instead we have this trashed version of ES that is being called ESO and the main objective is 3 faction pvp - 3 faction pvp you know the very thing ES fans just can't wait to do, that's why they spent all their time playing a single player rpg /sarcasm off

If you read this and you don't understand, check this out, then imagine what you could have created and challenged your friends with. Or what you and your guild could have created and challenged other guilds with. Would it have been the quest line that people never quit talking about? The dungeon that caught the eye of developers world wide?

When you realize what it is, you realize ES more than a single player rpg. You also realize transforming it into an mmorpg and bringing with that all the baggage of being and mmorpg, that is to completely remove it's identity.

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Originally posted by Azzras

Originally posted by Alden120

Originally posted by Righteous_Rock

Originally posted by Alden120

You have to group with people if you want to do the group dungeons. The grotto is the one I played in today and It was short and very forgettable the experience overall it wasn't very good and the bosses were pretty lack luster. Aside from this most people are just running around doing their own thing trying to rush through the quest grind so the multiplayer aspects in this game are very weak. The game would've been exceedingly better if it was exactly like say Skyrim or Morrowind even with just a 4 player online component.

See that is what ES fans want (me included) but in mmorpgs permanently altering the world like we do in our own single player ES games would just be chaotic. I think Zenimax is doing what they can, but given the nature of what ES fans like you and I are used to, what Zenimax has done does not resonate with us, we don't impact the world like we are used to doing when we play Oblivion or Skyrim. In those games as we play and listen to the dialog and react, we impact the game permantely. We just don't have that with ESO.

It's not a game for ES fans - ES fans are left confused and distracted and annoyed.

Yeah man pretty much it didn't need to be and MMORPG it would've made more money and fans would've been happy. This won't appeal to a mass MMORPG audience or the single player Elder Scrolls fans. So no ones really happy here eh ?

Saying no one is a bit to generalized and somewhat unfair to the game. While I don't find it earth-shattering and has its flaws, I've enjoyed my time enough in the betas enough to preorder. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean the rest of the world agrees with you. :)

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I could not agree more OP, no need for me to write a review, this game really does feel like a bunch of people running around doing their own thing.. really sad, devs seems to forget what MMORPG's are about.. You should need to group with people to enjoy the world, if all I wanted is a solo play game, then I would play a frigging solo game. sigh!

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Originally posted by AZHokie54Oh look, someone else that may as well just leave the genre of game because he will never find THE GAME.

Pretty much what I have done. These days the new MMORPG's are just repeats of the same old thing with different graphics. Ie. Go talk to NPC with some sort of glowy thing over his head. He tells you to find object with glowy thing over it and take North it to NPC 2 who will have a glowy thing over his head. The innovation in this genre peaked ten years ago, gameplay wise Asherons call and DAoC were when the much better in every aspect. I would love to see either of those games reskinned with updated sound and graphics. The RPG went out of the genre with SWG in my opinion, too bad SOE did not do a better job with the long term planning and quality control and customer service. LoTRO made a decent stab at regaining the RPG but it never lost momentum after a year or two.... Just my random opinions however....

These are not games they are connect the dots video chat rooms at best

Thank God there are some decent FPS combat MMO"S these days, the online RPG's are a total joke now

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A very very good review.

i am a fan of both elder scroll (since Morrowind. great rpg game) and mmorpg. eso is trying to be both (which to be fair, is not easy to for anyone) and it is becoming the master of none. not saying it is a bad game. it is actually fairly good but given it is elder scroll it could have been so much more. i will play it (i have purchased it) but i cannot see it reach the level i hoped it would. which is a shame because some of us (me included) really want it to be the best game ever and to be successful.

as you (OP) mentioned, co-op es would probably be better. now questing in grp isnt even good. i hope this get improved soon. at the moment i can it being an ok substitute for DAoC (even more so if smthing similar to Darkness Fall is added).

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As someone who names their top 3 MMO's as Darkfall, Asheron's Call and Project Visitor (10six, google it), but is also a huge single player RPG player, I can say that I've found this game enjoyable.

Once you turn off all the annoying UI elements, the single player progression is very enjoyable (if linear), and the immersion is pretty awesome for an MMO.

Player interaction is nothing like an old MMO, but the current MMO audience is nothing like the people who played those games, so there is little hope of a AAA games getting released with that feel to it.

Group content is pretty solid later on, and the PvP is very enjoyable. Also, being able to make a character that is uniquely tailored to my playstyle is refreshing.

In closing, I think that this is as good as it is going to get in regards to a major MMO release. For anything better we will need to hope that an indie developer comes along that can make a great sandbox and not f*** it up like Aventurine did for Darkfall.

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Originally posted by Uzik

In closing, I think that this is as good as it is going to get in regards to a major MMO release. For anything better we will need to hope that an indie developer comes along that can make a great sandbox and not f*** it up

That sums it up for me. So far it's the best medieval fantasy MMO I've played by a mile. Of course it doesn't look like Super Mario Bros errrrr World of Warcraft so it may not appeal to kiddies, teenage girls, and grandparents.

Graphics: 9 best yet

Sound/Music: 7 as good as you can expect

Character advancement: 9 Iove it when a developer really does something different from WoW

Combat: 8 takes some getting used to, reminds me alot of AOC(which I thought had the best combat)

Questing: 6 same ol' thing but I will say there were some really interesting characters that felt like Elder Scrolls and I could stomach the NPC rambling alot better than I could in SWTOR

PVP: Can't comment because I didn't get that far and unfortunately I can't rely on anybody's views here on it because it's always a polarizing subject

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I agree with most of your opinion.

I love the graphics & musics, they immerse me. I also detest the combat as it is. However, I'm not a big fan of PvP, but I'm loving the quest system, so I'll give the game a chance. The first free month will decide whether I'll sub or not.

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Originally posted by Alden120Based on the current horizon I'd say you're probably right. MMORPG's just aren't MMORPG's anymore. They are more wolves in sheeps clothing. Sheeps being the big name theme that is painted over a terrible overused framework. The wolves being the cigar smoking investors cashing in on your dollars for pumping it out to you. I'm keeping my eye on Pantheon for now nothing else is looking too intriguing.

i think the issue here is you are stuck in the past TBH

nothing wrong with only liking mmo's that are like classic EQ or old skool mmo's (which i loved by the way)

but you need to realize that, that's a you issue and not an issue with the genre as a whole.

there are plenty of mmo gamers out there that could not bare the thought of playing a time sink like classic EQ these days, me being one of them.

IMO there is plenty to like about many of the newer mmo's on the market if you like RPG's and gaming in general.

if all you like are old skool mmo's then yeah, i can see that as a problem for you and you should probably just "review" those types of games.

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all the new stuff wont be in before launch, collision, new pve content, moe difficulty, better combat animation, better combat effects and sound.

Only the "real" beta testers gets to play that.

Basing a game of a 2 month old client in a beta weekend where your role is to stress the servers to break, naw i could never go that way. For that normal game price i will play it 1 month, but i got a feeling ill keep subbing. Hell i spent 50 usd. hell ive spent more on a game that took 8 hours to complete.